CVE-2024-21981
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedImproper key usage control in AMD Secure Processor (ASP) may allow an attacker with local access who has gained arbitrary code execution privilege in ASP to extract ASP cryptographic keys, potentially resulting in loss of confidentiality and integrity.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceImproper key usage control in AMD Secure Processor allows an attacker with local access and arbitrary code execution privilege within the ASP to extract ASP cryptographic keys, potentially compromising confidentiality and integrity of secure operations.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify AMD Secure Processor hardware presenceCheck system information (via 'lspci' or Windows Device Manager) for AMD Secure Processor/Platform Security Processor (PSP) device. On Linux, also check /dev/tpm* devices or run 'dmesg | grep -i amd.*secure' to see if ASP is enumerated at boot.Affected if The system has AMD Secure Processor hardware and it is enabled in firmware/BIOS.
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Retrieve ASP firmware versionAccess the AMD Secure Processor firmware version through BIOS/UEFI settings under 'Security' or 'PSP' options, or use AMD-specific tools like 'amd-psp' kernel modules on Linux. On Windows, use 'wmic' or system information utilities that report PSP firmware versions.Affected if A firmware version is reported - the user must compare this against AMD's official advisory to determine if it falls within the vulnerable version range.
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Verify ASP code execution contextCheck if the system allows third-party or unsigned code to load into the AMD Secure Processor context. Review BIOS/UEFI settings for 'ASP Debug Mode', 'Secure Processor Debug', or 'DRAM Encryption' configurations. Look for any indicators that untrusted code could execute within the ASP.Affected if Debug or development modes are enabled in firmware, or if the system has been configured to allow non-signed ASP code execution.
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Assess local access exposureReview physical security controls and local user privileges. Determine if untrusted local users have administrative or firmware-level access that could facilitate code execution within the ASP context.Affected if The system is accessible to untrusted local users or lacks proper physical access controls.
A user is affected if the system contains AMD Secure Processor hardware, runs a firmware version within the vulnerable range, and the attacker can achieve arbitrary code execution within the ASP context.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply AMD-provided firmware updates for the Secure Processor when available; prior to patch, limit physical access and ensure no untrusted code executes in the ASP context.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-21981 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-21981 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data